Amusement device



P. W. H USSEY AMUSEMENT DEVICE Aug. 24 1926; 1,596,929"

Filed June 25, 1925 5 s s 1 I attomwq Aug. 24 1926., 1,596,929

P. W. HUSfiEY AMUSEMENT DEVICE Filed June 2 1e22- SSheets-Sheet 5 2 I arrow,

Aug 24,1926; 1,396,929

P. W. HUSSEY AMUSEMENT DEVI CE Filed June 25, 1925 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 gin-021M 01,

Aug. 24,1926. 1,596,929

P. w. HUSSEY AMUSEMENT DEVI CE Filed June 25, 1925 6 SheetsSheet 5 Aug. 24 1926. 1,596,929,

aw. HUSSE Y AMUSEMENT DEVICE Filed June 2 1925 6 Sheets-$heet 6 Mfnema I 44 m ?etented Aug. 24, 1926.

PATENT OFFICE.

run-2H w. fiUSEY, or ivon'rri BERwroK, MAINE.

musnivrnn'r DEVICE.

t eet-m iii-e6 511116 25, 1525. Serial N11. 39,569.

..-E eee. mi e u i vices such as are commonly usec sunnipeels, bet-hing be ziches, grounds,

. cline d hozird or chutetnd emu'sernent perks" 1nd the lilie iind wherein an inclined sliding op. chute provided dounjvhich persons s ide for :tmusemet ruii e v V} e ,e The prixnzirjz object of inventionus to vide 2i sliding bourd or c hute of the above clisirecter witl i'ine'aiiis for launching the user onto the upper end of thehbard or chute thetthe EjtlIlllQGIlIlG Ilfi device ma he used. tvitli greater facil ty end eels-e.

Another objectv of the invention is to provide a imeghie j of the "ahove chrructer which is extremely, siniple and durzihle in construction as tvell as efficient iii i r eei I Still another objectleuncliing deviceunder A u th i Ob t i t Pr vide an, proved structure for supporting the inw a d e bymee bf 'hpe e es hematite ev e efiwmeedily gain access to the upper end of the board or unite, I H p I I A still further object is to provide gin i r t fii i f. we. flee n platf r l i i ii eflth mu emen device were @01 e wat r wh vs dcfltew e p l b tb e es and; helik h the b t eer bieetf e and others that will become app a rentes the nziture of tie invention, is hetterunden stood, the szime consists in the novel forin, coinbinatioii and arrangement of p arts hereinafter rnore fullj described, shotvnin the accompanying drawings and claimed. In the drawings, wherein lil're referfence i 9 r i fie convenient control chiracters indicate corresponding parts throughout theseverzil views, U J

leur cl e lewtw e v vet an ainusement device constructed 1n accordance with the present invention Lind embodying.

e tiff Q fl t Pl t m, i i. Figure 2 ise rear e'levationel yievv of the lovver portion of the device shovvn'in Figure l drawn on a lur ger scale, V V Figure 3 a view similar to Figure 2 of theupper portion of the device shown in Figure l, c .7 c

Figure at, isa top plan View of the device shown in Figure 3,-

l i e 5 is a side elevetional View of the device sh'oivn iii Figu re 3, I

"Figure 6 is a top plain view of the portion dru device shown in Figure 2,

Figure 7 is tin enlarged jerspe ctive View ofa detail of the launching device, 7

Figure S is a view similar to Figure 7 of it further detail or the launching device, and M I p Figure 9 .is a vertical sectional. view taken suh stzintiilly line 99 of Figure 4 to more cledrlj shoiv further detziils of the launching device. I lteferrin g moi" in detail to the dr evvings, the forin o the invention herein shown embodies a chute 5 or conventional foi' rnisupp'oi'ted iii an inclined position nieins of forward relatively short supporting 6 ivhich are rigidly c onnecited sit their upper e dsby it transverse member 7 as shown in Figur'e 2 upon which the lower; end 10f i ee s e d. to whi h it ur d- Ithe legs 6 are br ic'eid against separating striin's by m ans ofincliiied cross braces 8, ind further braces 9 have their upper: for- Wii'd ends attached to the upper ends of the legs, 6. so as to brace the latter against foitivzirdtilting inovenieut. The rear upper end oftlie chiite 5 is supported by means of relitivelylong tee supporting legs l Ovvhich extend ail-1 slight inclination retrwzirdly from the upper end of the chute 5 and heve their upper puts pttnched to the latter as etll The rear legs 10 are also connected tindbrzic ed by means of inclined cross brzices l2, and the intermediate portion of the chute 5 is brzicedand supported by niezins ot forvvg rdly,extending bars 13 which are ri'anged substzintitllvhorizontelly ith their forward ends respectively secured to the ends of it transverse cleat 14E secured to the underside of the chute 5 as clearly shownin Figures 1 and 2, the rear ends of the h'a rslS being attached 21's ait l5 totheintermediate portions of the relatively long rear legs 10; The lower ends of the legs 6 and 10 its well as'the braces 9 21m s'ecured to the.,floor or supporting platform 16,; and it vill thusloeen seen that the chute his effectively supported in a simple and durable manner and in proper position for use. V

In the form of the invention shown the floor 16 constitutes the platform or floor of a raft or floating platform and is composed of a series of transversely extending boards secured upon spaced longitudinally extending pairs of horizontal beams 17 to the sides of which are fastened a plurality of series of transversely aligned saddles or saddle blocl's 18 which have concave lower edges in which the upper portions of transversely extending cylindrical floats or buoyant members 19 are seated. The buoyant members 19 are held in the seats of the sad dles 18 by means of clamping bands or rings 20 whose ends are secured as at 21 to the ends of the saddles 18 as shown clearly in Figures 1 and 2. 'A simple and durable form of floating platform or raft is thus provided for supporting the chute on the surface of the water when used for diving and other purposes at swimming pool bathing beaches or the like.

A ladder 22 is vertically disposed at the rear of the legs for facilitating access to the upper end of the chute 5, and as shown, this ladder extends below the floor or platform 16 so that the user may more readily gain access thereto when the device is used on the water, the lower end portion of the ladder 22 being secured to the platform 16 by means of brace rods 23, while the upper end of the ladder is connected with the upper end of the chute 5 by means of horizontal forwardly projecting arms 24 upon which are secured a plurality of boards forming a platform 25 between the upper end of the chute 5 and the upper end of the ladder 22 as shown clearly in Figure 1. Suitable U-shaped and inverted rails 26 have their ends attached to the ladder 22 and the arms 24 at opposite sides of the platform 25, and these rails provide hand grips to be grasped by the user for insuring safe passage from the upper end of the ladder to the upper end of the chute.

An important feature of the invention is a device for initially supporting the user of the chute 5 and then operable to launch the user of the same into the chute 5. This launching device may be of any preferred form or construction but is herein shown as embodying a seat board 27 to the rear end of which is attached a pair of hinge members 28 which are preferably of substantially Z-shape as shown more clearly in Figures 8 and 9 and which have their upper ends formed with horizontal bearing sleeves 29 that are loosely journaled upon a transverse supporting rod 30 whose ends pass through transversely aligned openings in the upper ends of the sides of the chute 5 and which is suitably held in place in spaced relation to and above the bottom of the chute as shown clearly in Figure 9. The seat board 27 is considerably narrower than the chute 5 as best shown in Figure 4, and the hinge members 28 extend upwardly and rearwardly from the rear corners of the seat board 27 so that spaces are left between the outer ends of the bearing sleeves 29 of said hinge members and the inner surfaces of the side walls of the chute 5. Encircling the rod 30 between the side walls of the chute 5 and the adjacent ends of the hearing sleeves 29 are helical springs 31, the outer ends of which are secured to the side walls of the chute, and the inner ends of which are suitably attached to the hinge members 23 or the bearing sleeves 29 there of with the springs under tortional tension so that the seat board 27 is yieldingly held in raised horizontal position as shown in the several views. A transverse shaft 32 is journaled at its ends in brackets 33 to the under side of the central portion of the seat board 27, and rigid with and depending from the central portion of the shaft 32 is a supporting arm 34 having a laterally directed lower end portion 35 adapted to rest upon a transverse supporting roller 36 for positively supporting the seat board 27 in its normal horizontal position. The arm 34 is rigid with the shaft 32, and the laterally directed portion 35 projects rearwardly of the chute and terminates in a depending reaiwvardly inclined arm or end portion 37 having a rearwardly projecting rigid stop pin 38 on the lower portion thereof. The roller 36 is journaled in suitable bearings attached to the under side of the bottom of the chute 5 and is disposed in line with an opening through the bottom wall of said chute through which the arm 34 is slidable. The roller 36 is disposed in a vertical plane rearwardly of the vertical plane in which the shaft 32 is disposed so that the arm 34 is disposed at a rearward inclination for insuring its automatic forward swinging movement when the seat board 27 is raised by the springs 31 so as to insure positioning of the laterally directed portion 35 upon the supporting roller 36. The stop pin 38 is arranged to engage the bottom of the chute 5 for preventing excessive upward movement of the seat board 27. and disposed about the upper end portion of the supporting arm 34 is a helical compression spring 39 whose lower end is adapted to strilze the bottom wall of the chute 5 when the seat board 27 is allowed to swing downwardly for launching the user into the upper end of the chute, thereby absorbing any shocks. The spring 39 is suitably attached to the upper end of the arm 34 or to the shaft 32'so as to be maintained in the position shown in Figure 9.

Means is provided for swinging the arm 34 rearwardly so as to disengage the offset or laterally directed portion 35 thereof from the roller 36 and to position the upper portion of the arm 34 rearwardly of the roller 36 whereby said arm 34 may slide down- 'wardly past the roller 36 for allowing the seat board 27 to lower and thereby causing launching of the user into the chute. This means is preferably of a character so as to be under control of the occupant of the seat board 27 and is shown as comprising a transver'sely extending lever 40 which is pivoted intermediate its ends upon the floor or bot tom wall of the chute 5 and has its inner end disposed at the forward side of the arm 34, the outer portion of the lever 40 projecting outwardly through a slot 41 in one side wall of the chute 5 and having its outer end attached to a flexible member or rope 42 which extends forwardly and downwardly around a guide pulley 43 suspended from the adjacent side of the chute The rope- 42 extends from the pulley 4S 'rearwardly and upwardly where its other end is attached to an eye 44 carried by the adjacent side of the chute 5 near the seat board 27. It will thus be seen that when the end portion of the rope 42 which is attach-ed to the eye 44 is pulled by the occupant of the seat board 27,

5 the lever 40 will be swung so as to cause the inner end portion thereof to move rearwardly in engagement with the arm 84 for rearwardly swinging the latter until the laterally directed portion 35 leaves the roller 36 whereupon the seat boardis free to lower under the weight of the occupant thereof for causing sudden launching of the occupant of the seat board into the chute. This operation is insured as the springs 31 are only of sufiicient strength to swing the seat board 27 upwardly and are not of sufficient strength to resist the downward pressure exerted by the weight of the occupant of the seat board when the supporting arm 34 is released.

From the foregoing description it is believed that the construction and operation as well as the advantages of the present in vention will be readily understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art.

Minor changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

lvhat I claim as new is:

1. An amusement device including an in clined sliding board, a trip device, a support pivoted on the upper end portion of said sliding board and adapted to be moved to a horizontal position and to be releasably maintained in such position by said trip device, means adapted to be actuated by the occupant of the support for disengaging the trip device, said support being tiltable by the weight of the occupant thereof upon release of the trip device for launching the occupant onto the sliding board, and yieldaole means acting to normally raise the support for automatically returning the latter to a horizontal position after the occupant is launched therefrom.

2. An amusement device including an clined sliding board, a trip device, a support pivoted on the upper end portion of said sliding board and adapted to be moved to a horizontal position and to be releasably 1 maintained in such position by said trip device, means adapted to be actuated by the occupant of the support for disengaging the trip device, said support being tiltable by the weight of the occupant thereof upon release of the trip device for launching the occupant onto the sliding boarchand yieldable means acting to normally raise the support for automatically returning the latter to a. horizontal position after the occupantis launched therefrom, said trip device be ing automatically settable for releasahly maintaining the support horizontally positioned when returned to such position by said yieldable means.

3. An amusement device including an inclined sliding board, a trip device, a supp'ort pivoted on the upper end portion of said sliding board and adaptedto be moved to a horizontal position and to be r'eleasably maintained in such position by said trip device, and means adapted to be actuated by the occi'ipa'nt of the support for disengaging the trip device, said "support being tiltable by the weight of the occupant thereof upon release of the trip device for launching the occupant onto the sliding board, said trip device including atrip arm hinged at its upper end to the support and adapted for supporting engagement with the sliding board.

4. An amusement device including an inclined sliding board, a trip device, a support pivoted on the upper end portion of said sliding board and adapted to be moved to a. horizontal position and to be releasably maintained in such position by said trip device and means adapted to be actuated by the occupant of the support for disengaging the trip device, said support being tiltable by the weight of the occupant thereof upon release of the trip device for launching the occupant onto the sliding board, said trip device including a vertically swinging trip armhinged to and depend ing from the support.

5. An amusement device including an incline-d sliding board, a trip device, a support pivoted on the upper end portion of said sliding board and adapted to be moved to a horizontal position and to be releasably maintained in such position by said trip device, means adapted to be actuated by the occupant of the support for disengaging the trip device, said support being tiltable by the Weight of the occupant thereof upon release of the trip device for launching the occupant onto the sliding board, said trip device including a vertically swinging trip arm hinged to and depending from the support, and said trip device disengaging means including a horizontal actuating lever for the trip arm projecting outwardly beyond one side of the sliding board heneath the support.

6. An amusement device including an inclined sliding board, a trip device, a support pivoted on the upper end portion of said sliding board and adapted to be moved to a horizontal position and to be releasably maintained in such position by said trip device, means adapted to be actuated by the occupant of the support for disengaging the trip device, said support being tiltable by the weight of the occupant thereof upon release of the trip device for launching the occupant onto the sliding board, said trip device including a vertically swinging trip arm hinged to and depending from the support, and a supporting element carried by the sliding board, said trip arm being slidable through the sliding board rearwardly of its point of attachment to the support, and means to automatically move the trip {arm forwardly into engagement with the supporting element when the support is raised.

7 An amusement device including an inclined sliding board, a trip device, a support pivoted on the upper end portion of said sliding board and adapted to be moved to a horizontal position and to be releasably maintained in such position by said trip device, means adapted to be actuated by th occupant of the support for disengaging the trip device, said support being tiltable by the weight of the occupant thereof upon release of the trip device for launching the occupant onto the sliding board, said trip device including a vertically swinging trip arm hinged to and depending from the support, and a cushion element on the upper end of the trip arm for absorbing shock incident to tilting of the support.

8. An amusement device including an inclined sliding board, a trip device, a support pivoted on the upper end portion of said sliding board adapted to be moved to a horizontal position and to be releasably maintained in such position by said trip device, and means adapted to be actuated for disengaging the trip device, said support being tiltable by the Weight of the occupant thereof upon release of the trip device for launching the occupant onto the sliding board, and yielda-ble means acting to normally raise the support for automatically returning the latter to a horizontal position after the occupant is launched therefrom.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

PHILIP W. HUSSEY. 

